Clarifying information on Metro-North schedules

In the comments to my post on the new Metro-North stop opening tomorrow morning, details about the schedules and routes got a little hazy. The confusion was due to my misunderstanding of the questions and confusion surrounding the complexities of the schedule. I wanted to provide everyone considering using this station — and that should be everyone — with a quick update.

For all weekend day games — 1:05 p.m. or 4:10 p.m. starts — all trains heading south on Metro-North’s Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines will be stopping at Yankee Stadium for up to around two-and-a-half to three hours prior to the game. After all Yankee games — during the week and on the weekends — all trains on those lines will stop at Yankee Stadium for up to 45 minutes after the game ends. At all times, Hudson Line trains will stop at Yankee Stadium, and for games during the week, customers traveling from points north on the Harlem and New Haven Lines will have to transfer to Hudson Line trains, Yankee Stadium shuttles or the 4 train at 125th St. Schedule information is available here.

For those wondering how the MTA is servicing a station on the Hudson Line with trains that will head up the Harlem and New Haven Lines, that I can answer. There is an unactivated rail spur approximately one mile east of Yankee Stadium that connects the Hudson Line with the Harlem and New Haven Lines. For the first time in Metro-North history, passenger trains will make use of that spur to provide service for Yankee Stadium. Hopefully, this info clears up the confusion. If anyone still has questions, just drop them in the comments.

To Game: No stop, go to 125 and transfer to Hudson or 4
From Game: Get on Yankee stadium stop

Weekend Game on New Haven or Harlem:

To Game: Yankee Stadium stop
From Game: Yankee stadium stop

Hudson line:

Good to go at all times.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Benjamin Kabak

Correct.

http://www.riveraveblues.com Benjamin Kabak

And also, after the game seven days a week no matter what time, all lines stop at Yankee Stadium.

http://www.puristbleedspinstripes.com Rebecca-Optimist Prime

…I’ll stick with the subway for the time being.

DF

So Friday games are still considered weekday games right?

http://www.riveraveblues.com Benjamin Kabak

Yes.

tim randle

I just took the train from Beacon to 125th then the subway back up to 161st. Cost like $12 + $2 I think? (one way)

Would have been awesome had this been up and running, and been able to take it straight into the stadium.

Congrats to you guys for getting it done on time, on budget, and finishing a great mass transit project that’s actually in demand!!!

Aaron

Just to clarify even more the situation on the Harlem and New Haven lines:

Weekend games (any time of day)
To game: Direct service
From game: Direct service

Weekday evening games (7:05)
To game: Transfer at 125th St.
From game: Direct service

Weekday afternoon games (1:05)
To game: Transfer at 125th St.
From game: Transfer at 125th St.

There is no other baseball stadium in the country with this high level of regional train service.

10 of Major League Baseball’s 30 stadiums are within walking distance of a regional/intercity rail station, as follows:

* Camden Yards to MARC’s Camden Station = 250 feet
* Fenway Park to MBTA Commuter Rail’s Yawkey station = 535 feet
* The Oakland A’s Coliseum to Amtrak’s Oakland Coliseum/Airport station = 850 feet
* L.A. Angels’ Stadium to the Anaheim station shared by Metrolink and Amtrak = 900 feet
* Yankee Stadium to Metro-North’s Yankees-E. 153rd St. station = 1,425 feet
* The San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park to Caltrain’s San Francisco terminal = 1,550 feet
* Citi Field to the Long Island Rail Road’s Mets-Willets Point station = 1,565 feet
* The Colorado Rockie’s Coors Field to the Denver Amtrak station = 1,775 feet
* The Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field to King Street Station in Downtown Seattle, served by Sounder and Amtrak = 2,160 feet
* The Toronto Blue Jays’ Rogers Centre to Toronto Union Station served by GO Transit, VIA, and Amtrak = 2,185 feet

(Also worth noting: Metra’s Southwest Service and Rock Island District tracks go right by the White Sox’ U.S. Cellular Field, but there is no station there. Also there are tracks extending beyond Coaster’s San Diego terminal toward the Padres’ Petco Park, but again, no station.)

Even though there are 10 stadiums with rail access, not all of these offer convenient service to the game. First of all, Amtrak’s Denver station is served by one train a day in each direction (the California Zephyr). When you eliminate that stadium/station combo, you are left with 9. From what I could tell by the online schedules, only Metro-North and the LIRR operate special trains specifically for baseball fans. In addition, MBTA Commuter Rail has a weekday train that makes a special stop at Yawkey on game nights. (Sorry, it doesn’t stop in Darien.) Beyond those three, I could not find any other railroads that operate special trains or make special stops for baseball fans. That does not mean that fans can’t still use the normal service to get to the games, if the schedules allow.

And that can be, ahem!, hit-or-miss. Despite having the shortest distance between stadium and station, Orioles fans can’t get to a weekday game by MARC train. They can’t get home from a weeknight game using MARC, and there is no service on weekends. The Mariners and the A’s fans both have between one and a half dozen trains to and from afternoon games, but won’t get service home from night games. Angels fans will have one or two trains to and from any game using Amtrak, but don’t get any Metrolink trains from a night game, to a weekday afternoon game, or to or from a weekend game. Red Sox fans have at least two trains to and from any game along the Framingham/Worcester Line. San Francisco Giants fans have frequent service to all weekday/night games and from weekday afternoon games, but had better catch the 10:40 p.m. train unless they want to wait for the last train of the night, at midnight. They also have hourly service to and from weekend games. Blue Jays fans have at least hourly service to and from all games along the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West lines, but no service on the other five GO Transit lines except for departures from weekday afternoon games. The LIRR offers terrific service to and from all Mets games no matter the time of day or night, but if your destination is along any branch other than the Port Washington, you need to change at Woodside (and the LIRR stops extra trains there for that as well).

All of which is to say: the level of service that Metro-North is providing to this new station — the frequency, the number of destinations, the number of lines served with one-seat rides and the square miles of territory those lines cover — is unsurpassed on this continent. My hat is off to everyone involved in the capital planning and operations planning for this project, not to mention those dispatching and operating the trains.